2015 Exposure Deaths Plummet – The Arizona Daily Sun

Two Catholic Charities workers were searching Flagstaff’s Southside for vulnerable homeless people early one morning in mid-December when they came upon something they never wanted to see.

Inside a tunnel in the 100 block of West Phoenix Avenue was the body of a man bundled up in a sleeping bag. He appeared to have frozen to death.

Deaths like this one happen every winter in Flagstaff as overnight temperatures drop into the single digits. But in 2015, the number of suspected exposure deaths among the local homeless population dropped significantly.

During its annual Longest Night memorial service on Dec. 21, 2014 Flagstaff Shelter Services remembered eight homeless people who died due to exposure that year.

Persons requiring hearing, language, visual, mobility or other accommodations may contact Flagstaff Shelter Services at (928) 225-2533 or 711 to make special arrangements at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time.